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Want to learn more about our academic degree programs? Take a look at our Master of Divinity, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Ministry programs. Plus, learn about our unique Training & Mentoring program.

This Student Life section is the one-stop shop for students to get connected to activities that will feed your spiritual and social life as well as equip you with resources to jump-start your academic career.

Being a part of our Denver Seminary community is about connection. Whether you are an alumni, donor, or friend of the Seminary, we want to stay in touch and hope you'll take part in our programs and events.

Denver Seminary has a wealth of resources that are available to current students, alumni, and the local community. Here you will find access to the Denver Journal, Engage Magazine, and the various initiatives organized by the Seminary.

The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40-66

A review of John Oswalt's, "The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40-66," by Dr. M. Daniel Carroll R.

Oswalt, John N. The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40-66.
The New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids:
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998. $48.00 hc. xviii + 755 pp. ISBN
0-8028-2534-6.

This volume completes the commentary in
this series on this prophetic book. Oswalt’s work on Isaiah, chapters
1-39 appeared in 1986. These two volumes are the replacement for the
earlier classic study by E.J. Young that appeared in three volumes,
1964-1972.

Oswalt’s commentary exhibits several of the
strengths of the first volume. His many helpful footnotes focus
primarily on explaining grammatical and lexical particulars, and the
structural breakdown and exposition of the text are lucid and easy to
follow. There is a concern to weave theological reflection into this
exposition, not only in terms of each passage’s relationship to the
broader concerns of the entire book of Isaiah and the rest of the Old
Testament but also in terms of possible subsequent fulfillments and
developments within the New Testament. There are extensive indexes for
subject matter, authors, biblical references, and Hebrew words provided
at the end of the book.

At the same time, however, this
commentary reflects a weakness of the earlier commentary as well. Some
reviewers faulted the introduction and discussion of passages in
Oswalt’s first contribution for the lack of a more deliberate and
constructive interaction with critical research on Isaiah. The same
observation could be made concerning this commentary. With so much work
in so many diverse dimensions of Isaiah studies appearing in print
since the publication of that first volume, one would have hoped for a
much more detailed and ample introduction. Instead, in the opening
paragraph the reader is referred to the 1986 introduction (p. 3). What
follows is a very brief summary of just four pages of some contemporary
debates and positions. Yet, there has been a sea change in scholarship
over the last fifteen years! Fruitful new research and approaches, such
as the creative literary readings of scholars such as C.R. Seitz and E.
Conrad and the complex new redactional theories of critical scholars,
are mentioned in a footnote (p. 4, fn. 6) but utilized hardly at all in
the commentary itself, or glaringly are conspicuous by their absence
(for example, the recent significant proposals by H.G.M. Williamson and
R. Rendtorff). It must be said, though, in fairness, that Oswalt does
offer quite an extensive supplementary bibliography on pp. 20-39.
Nevertheless, citation is neither dialogue with other points of view
nor integration of possible new insights.

One other, perhaps
unavoidable, frustration with this commentary is that some important
discussions on topics especially pertinent to these chapters of Isaiah
are to be found in volume one. For instance, Oswalt’s comments on the
first Servant Song (42: 1ff.) are prefaced only with a two page survey
of a few views on the Servant, and then the reader is advised to
consult the first volume. Once more, the author provides a supplemental
bibliography - one of the Songs in general (pp. 113-15) and another on
the fourth Song (52:13-53:12) in particular (pp. 408-10) - but the
reader is left with the task of moving between both commentaries.

Oswalt
continues with the theological thrust suggested in that first volume.
That is, the central theme of Isaiah, as he sees it, is the servanthood of the people of God.
Chapters 40-66 will elucidate how God will restore his people in order
that they might be able to accomplish their appointed mission to be a
blessing to the world: the effectual work of an individual, who is the
messianic Servant of the Lord. He divides these chapters into two large
parts, chapters 40-55 ("The Vocation of Servanthood") and 56-66 ("The
Marks of Servanthood"). The author throughout makes a concerted effort
to demonstrate the theological unity of the entire prophetic book and
constantly underscores the multiple interconnections with chapters 1-39.

In
sum, Oswalt’s work is a solid, technical commentary of a more
traditional evangelical sort. Accordingly, it exhibits the values of
that genre: good explanations of passages with attention to textual
details and a commitment to exploring the theological ramifications for
the Christian faith. It will serve well the pastor, teachers of the
Bible, and seminarians, who desire to grasp the message of this key
prophetic book as a whole for today.